IndiGo’s vacated slots are struggling to attract takers despite govt push. Here's why

The civil aviation ministry has directed airlines to submit requests for operating on slots vacated by IndiGo after the airline’s winter schedule was reduced due to severe disruptions in December 2025. This move aims to redistribute capacity and maintain stability in domestic air travel, but initial feedback suggests limited airline interest in the offered slots.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline with over 2,000 daily flights, cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed 1,852 between December 3 and 5, 2025, affecting more than 300,000 passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) responded by imposing a 10 per cent reduction on IndiGo’s winter schedule, freeing up several operating slots for reassignment.

A committee on the redistribution of these slots met on 13 January to set principles for reallocation. The panel asked interested airlines to submit requests and preferences for the available slots, with conditions such as not discontinuing existing routes to use the vacated ones.

Applications must be routed through airport operators, with final allocation decisions resting with authorities. However, industry response has been muted.

"No one (airline) wants to take their (IndiGo's) slots. They are not leaving anything except the red-eye flights, which no one wants to take. At the most, they are leaving one flight from a station where they have six flights. No one, in fact, is interested in insignificant slots," an airline executive told PTI.

IndiGo’s operational issues led to regulatory scrutiny. On January 17, the DGCA announced fines totalling ₹22.20 crore for the disruptions and issued warnings to CEO Pieter Elbers and two senior executives. The regulator also demanded a ₹50 crore bank guarantee from IndiGo for long-term systemic improvements.

The DGCA attributed the disruptions to inadequate crew management, insufficient regulatory preparedness, and shortcomings in system software and operational control.

"The airline's planning processes did not adequately identify operational deficiencies or maintain sufficient operational buffers. There was an overriding focus on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which led to reduced roster buffer margins," the watchdog said.

It further noted, "Crew rosters were designed to operate at the limits of permissible duty periods, with increased reliance on dead-heading, tail swaps, extended duty patterns, and minimal recovery margins. This compromised roster integrity and operational resilience and adversely impacted the implementation of the revised FDTL provisions."

IndiGo reported a 78 per cent decline in profit, totalling ₹549.1 crore for the quarter ending December 2025, citing higher expenses, labour law changes, and currency fluctuations as contributing factors.